Lilac Vinegar

Ingredients

• 1 gallon pasteurized apple juice
• 1–2 cups lightly packed lilac blossom florets picked from stem clusters
• 1 cup raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered vinegar, or a vinegar mother

Steps

1. Pour most of the juice into a sanitized widemouthed gallon jar, add the blossoms, and pour in as much of the remaining juice as will fit. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
2. Cover the jar with a basket-style coffee filter or a piece of unbleached cotton (butter muslin or tightly woven cheesecloth). Secure with a string, a rubber band, or a threaded metal canning band. This is to keep out fruit flies.
3. If possible, place in an environment where the temperature is between 50° and 65°F. Wild yeasts like a cool temperature, so the closer you stay in this range, the better. Wild yeasts typically are slow to start, so don’t expect to see bubbles in your jar for a couple of days or more.
4. Stir once a day for the first 5 or 6 days. Unlike with most ferments, you want to get some oxygen in the mix. However, make sure the flower petals themselves stay submerged, otherwise they can become a host for undesirable opportunistic bacteria.
5. Add the raw vinegar. Stir well and replace the covering.
6. Place on your counter or in another spot that is 75° to 86°F.
7. Check the vinegar in a month, when you should have nice acidity. However, it may take another month or two to fully develop, especially if your environment is cooler.
8. Bottle the finished vinegar, saving the mother for another batch or sharing with a friend. Use immediately, or age to allow it to mellow and flavors to develop.